THE NIGHT OF ALL SAINTS
It is an old belief that on the night of All Saints, "Hallowe'en," the spirits of the dead return, so each year there is made a beloved feast.
He will come back across the roads unmeasured—
Lit by old moons and flaming sun and star;
There are so many things he loved and treasured
To call him from afar.
Joy of the distant heaven, howe'er entrancing,
Never could charm him from the earth he knew,
Scent of the rose-leaves—music, mirth and dancing—
He will come back to you.
He will come back—no golden bars can hold him—
He will come back to fire and candle shine;
He will be near, though you may not behold him,
And though he gives no sign.
IN THE LAST YEAR
1918
We are forgetting all the old grey saints,—
A bloom of dust lies on the martyrs' shrines;
From storied windows that the sunlight paints,
We rarely read the dear familiar lines;
They seem a part of things so far away,
These haloed ones—the saints of yesterday.